Rescuers pulled more bodies from the shell of the truck-bombed Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital Sunday, pushing the death toll from one of the country's worst terrorist strikes to 53, including the Czech ambassador and two Americans.
The five-story hotel, a favorite spot for foreigners and the Pakistani elite _ and a previous target of militants _ still smoldered from a fire that raged for hours after the previous day's explosion, which also wounded more than 250 people.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion fell on al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban. IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors and analyzes militant messages, noted that al-Qaida's 9/11 anniversary video threatened attacks against Western interests in Pakistan, where many are angered by a wave of cross-border strikes on militant bases by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
The bomb went off close to 8 p.m. Saturday, when the restaurants inside would have been packed with Muslim diners breaking their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The owner of the hotel accused security forces of a serious lapse in allowing a dump truck to approach the hotel unchallenged and not shooting the driver before he could trigger the explosives.
'If I were there and had seen the suicide bomber, I would have killed him. Unfortunately, they didn't,' Sadruddin Hashwani said.
The government released footage from a hotel surveillance camera showing the heavy truck turning left into the gate at speed, ramming a metal barrier and coming to a halt about 60 feet away from the hotel.
Guards nervously came forward to look, then scattered after an initial small explosion.
Several guards tried repeatedly to douse flames spreading through the cab of the truck as traffic continued to pass on the road behind. There is no sign of movement in the truck and the footage played did not show the final blast.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the bomber attacked the hotel only after tight security prevented him from reaching Parliament or the prime minister's office, where the president and many dignitaries were gathered for dinner.
'The purpose was to destabilize democracy,' Gilani said. 'They want to destroy us economically.'
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Other details from another Reuters report....
Four foreigners were killed including the Czech ambassador, his Vietnamese partner and two members of the U.S. armed forces assigned to the U.S. embassy. Denmark's security service said one of their staff, attached to the Danish mission in the capital, was missing, presumed dead. An American State Department employee was also missing, a spokesman said.
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